The Pumas are eighth and Scotland ninth in the current rankings, which in May next year will determine whether they are among the top eight seeds in the draw for the World Cup's pool stage.
Argentina will be looking for a win to ensure they stay at least eighth while the Scots, who beat the Pumas 41-31 when they last met at Murrayfield in 2014, hope to improve their position.
“We know it’s a determining factor,” Pumas coach Daniel Hourcade told the team website (www.lospumas.com.ar).
“For the ranking we’re not going to change our strategy or the way we play but we know it’s an extra pressure. It’s a match against a direct rival.”
Flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez, who will win his 50th cap, added: “We’re going into a very tough match against Scotland and this time the matter of the ranking is very important.”
Wales were outside the top eight in 2012 when the draw was made for last year's World Cup and were placed in a pool with seeds England and Australia, although Warren Gatland's side did reach the quarter-finals.
With only the top two qualifying for the knockout stage, hosts England made an early exit.
The November tests are the last opportunity for southern hemisphere countries to earn -- or lose -- ranking points.
The results of European teams in next year's Six Nations, however, will count and they can go up or down in the rankings, as teams take points off each other.
Argentina, who reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2015, want to make up for their poor performance in their 24-20 loss to Wales in Cardiff last weekend.
“I think that we could have won the match against Wales if we hadn’t committed so many errors and (given away) penalties that allowed them to control the game,” said Sanchez.
Sanchez’s excellent place kicking could be a factor as he seeks to overtake former flyhalf Gonzalo Quesada, top scorer at the 1999 World Cup, as Argentina’s third highest points scorer.
He has 483 points, three less than Quesada, with Felipe Contepomi and Hugo Porta the top two.
(Reporting by Rex Gowar; Editing by Toby Davis)
Share
